1. Are SDG targets relevant today?

Of course they are. The planet is in danger and anything that helps to preserve it and prevent deterioration is relevant. Achieving sustainability requires the commitment of everyone without exception. Professional services companies, such as law firms, advisors, consultants, headhunters, tax advisors, architects, engineers, etc., make up a very important sector in our country, both as economic operators and as the benchmarks and advisors they are for many other organisations, to which they provide advisory and support services in various areas. They are key to the fulfilment of the SDGs.

That is why we have created ODESIUS, to help our users understand what the SDGs are and to train them to establish a sustainability strategy in their companies, taking into account that it can become a new line of business for many organisations.  

2. Is the market, in general, really aware of the fulfilment of these goals?

At the moment, not many have taken the SDGs as a starting point. Their knowledge and application is mainly concentrated in large corporations: banks, insurance companies, energy and telecommunications companies. All of them have been working with the SDGs for years. 

In the legal sector, there are only a few firms that have done things here and there, but only a minority of them have a strategy designed and fully implemented. Again, it is mainly the big firms that are talking about sustainability as a marketing tool and in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors and try to capture a larger market share.

But this is not enough to meet the SDGs. According to the Ministry of Industry, SMEs account for 99% of the country's companies, which means that there are many of them and they have the power to influence. Now that no one doubts that the planet is dying, SMEs must make use of this influence, they can help a lot in managing the necessary change.

3. Among the 17 SDGs, which are the ones that companies are trying to achieve the most?

They are all equally important. There is no point in focusing on solving one problem and neglecting the others. Usually, we find that the concerns are spread out; it is not common for one SDG to be repeated more than another. What we do notice is that the choice of certain actions to meet an SDG does depend on its location and the problems of that area.

For example, in Madrid, concern for water and sanitation is not common, as we enjoy an outstanding service here. However, it is common to find concern for environmental care, the development of sustainable communities or responsible production and consumption. 

The fight against poverty, hunger, inequalities and climate change are the most obvious and already assumed objectives, and therefore also the ones that most companies may include in their roadmap. 

4. Can technology and digital transformation help to meet these goals?

It is not that they can, it is that they are obliged to do so. We can no longer ignore the cry of the planet and technological developments must be designed with sustainability in mind. Why are we going to continue using paper if practically the entire population has a smartphone? Why are we going to consume more resources than the earth can give us? Technology will be a task facilitator that will save resources and optimise processes. 

Moreover, technology helps to measure, and measuring is essential for improvement. With technology we can measure discrimination, inequalities, the efficiency of what we do.

5. What is the purpose of ODESIUS?

When on 25 September 2015 the 193 member states of the United Nations approved the agenda for development until 2030, which has been christened Agenda 2030 or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the idea of ODESIUS was born. It is not a for-profit project. We think about how we can help, taking into account our knowledge.

At the Institute for Legal Innovation we have helped many law firms to digitally transform themselves to meet the needs of their clients. We wanted to do it with society and we came up with the idea of designing a platform that provides these types of professional services companies with the necessary tools to understand the SDGs, implement them in their organisations and communicate their commitment to them to the world, so that we can achieve a rebound effect with more and more people taking action to save the planet.

6. What value does ODESIUS bring to firms?

Professional services firms will be very important to achieve the sustainability of the planet and the fulfilment of the SDGs and ODESIUS helps them to achieve this through 4 simple steps: self-diagnosis, implementation of actions, visibility of actions and training in sustainability.

Self-diagnosis is key to know where each organisation is, because you cannot change if you do not know your starting point. After completing a test, the head of the firm will receive a report on the status of compliance in each SDG, and will also receive a separate report with recommendations for actions to be implemented.

On the other hand, the information on the SDGs is a good roadmap provided by the United Nations, which larger companies have already integrated seamlessly into their strategies. ODESIUS provides firms with information on each SDG and has designed a 4-hour course to go deeper into each issue.